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# 6 Transliteration

There is a standard system for representing, or ‘transliterating’, Greek letters in English. A transliteration can be a useful tool in the initial stages of learning Greek, because it can confirm that you have understood each individual letter correctly.

For example:

- ΠοσειδωνPoseidо̄n
- λεγωlegо̄ (= ‘I say’)
- σοφοςsophos (= ‘wise’)

The following letters are represented in English by two letters:

- θ (theta)th
- φ (phi)ph
- χ (chi)ch
- ψ (psi)ps

The long vowels are represented by their English equivalents, ‘e’ and ‘o’ with a horizontal line above, called a macron.

- η (eta)ē
- ω (omega)о̄

Gamma is transliterated as ‘n’, when it precedes gamma, kappa, xi or chi. This reflects the way in which these combinations of letters were pronounced by the ancient Greeks:

- αγγελοςangelos (= ‘messenger’)
- αγκυραankura (= ‘anchor’)

Upsilon can be represented as ‘u’ or ‘y’.

The transliteration of Greek names often follows a Latinised form, especially if a name is well known. Thus ‘Aeschylus’ is the usual spelling of the name of the Greek playwright, rather than the technically correct ‘Aischulos’ (Αἰσχύλος).

## Activity 7 Letter counting

Allow about 5 minutes

How many Greek letters are needed to write the following words?

1. theatron (= ‘theatre’)
2. philosophos (= ‘philosopher’)
3. chaos (= ‘chaos’)
4. psuchē (= ‘soul’, ‘mind’)
5. о̄phthē (= ‘he/she was seen’)

### Discussion

1. Seven letters – θεατρον (theatron)
2. Nine letters – φιλοσοφοϛ (philosophos)
3. Four letters – χαος (chaos)
4. Four letters – ψυχη (psuchē)
5. Four letters – ωφθη (о̄phthē)

◄Contents►Next: 7 Learning the letters

OpenLearn - Getting started on ancient Greek
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